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Dell Says 1 Billion PCs Remain on Windows 10 as Windows 11 Upgrade Lags

Stricter hardware rules slow adoption, leaving AI‑ready hardware as the main hope for renewed upgrades.

Overview

  • Dell COO Jeffrey Clarke told investors that about 500 million PCs eligible for Windows 11 have not upgraded, with another roughly 500 million too old to run it.
  • Dell says the Windows 11 transition is running 10–12 percentage points behind the previous Windows upgrade cycle at a similar stage.
  • The figures imply roughly 1 billion PCs are still on Windows 10 even after support ended in October.
  • Dell expects PC demand to be roughly flat over the next year, while positioning AI PCs and NPUs as potential catalysts for future replacements.
  • Microsoft recently said nearly 1 billion people rely on Windows 11, underscoring how different metrics are being used to describe the transition.